Dancing Moose Preschool offers an enriching early childhood program meticulously designed for children aged 3 to 5 years, providing both full and part-day options to suit your family’s needs. Our core philosophy revolves around nurturing your child’s academic potential and fostering vital 21st-century skills – collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creative innovation, and unwavering confidence – all through thoughtfully planned, intentional instruction rooted in the Montessori method. Within our Preschool classroom, you’ll find a carefully structured environment featuring diverse work areas, each purposefully designed to facilitate the ongoing achievement of our comprehensive curricular objectives.
Cultivating a Love for Literacy Through Montessori Language
Literacy is the very cornerstone of our Dancing Moose Montessori program. Our overarching goal extends beyond simply teaching children how to read; we aim to instill a genuine love for reading and a deep comprehension of the written word. We are dedicated to nurturing lifelong readers, and this journey begins with engaging teacher read-aloud sessions. We believe in sparking joy through shared experiences with captivating and beautifully illustrated books. From this foundation, we progress to a balanced literacy approach, employing a variety of methods to teach reading effectively.
Even our youngest 3-year-olds quickly embark on their reading adventures. After mastering foundational elements like letter sounds, sight words, and basic punctuation, they excitedly begin reading simple sentences constructed from these very building blocks. As a child’s understanding of the alphabet expands and their word decoding skills develop, they are introduced to early reader books, learning to skillfully utilize context clues to enhance their comprehension across a diverse range of engaging texts.
Writing is seamlessly integrated throughout all areas of our Montessori curriculum. Practical life and sensorial activities play a crucial role in strengthening pincer grips, essential for handwriting development. We recognize that fine motor skills can sometimes develop at a different pace than reading skills. To support this, the Montessori approach utilizes tactile wooden letters, allowing children to physically construct words and sentences while simultaneously refining the necessary motor pathways for writing. This comprehensive language program provides a powerful and joyful jump-start to a child’s lifelong journey of reading appreciation and proficiency within our Dancing Moose Montessori environment.
Unlocking Mathematical Minds with Montessori Math
Montessori Math stands as a truly distinctive element of the Dancing Moose Montessori approach, setting it apart from other educational methods. Through the intentional use of concrete, hands-on materials, children develop a profound understanding of what mathematics looks like and, more importantly, what mathematics means. Young children engage with materials that represent complex mathematical operations, yet these activities feel more like enjoyable and simple games, fostering a positive association with math from an early age. This concrete foundation cultivates a deeper, more intuitive understanding that will serve children exceptionally well as they progress to more abstract mathematical concepts in their later years.
We employ a rich variety of carefully designed concrete materials, all purposefully created to build children’s conceptual awareness of mathematical principles. Once a child can confidently associate quantities with the symbols one through ten, they are introduced to the concept of place value using the iconic golden beads. They learn to visually and tactilely differentiate between a unit, a ten bar, a hundred square, and a thousand cube. With these materials, they can then physically construct complex numbers and equations, bringing abstract concepts to life. Furthermore, several specialized boards and engaging activities are incorporated into the early childhood program to introduce the four fundamental mathematical operations. Extensive research consistently demonstrates that this concrete, Montessori-based method leads to significantly improved math outcomes for children in the long term.
Engaging the Senses Through Montessori Sensorial Exploration
The sensorial area within our Dancing Moose Montessori classroom is specifically designed to cultivate and refine the senses of our young learners. These captivating activities are thoughtfully structured to focus on one sense at a time – visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and gustatory – allowing for focused exploration and development. These sensorial experiences serve as the foundational building blocks for more complex areas of learning, such as mathematics, and are instrumental in helping children develop a sense of order and organization in the world around them.
Furthermore, these engaging sensorial lessons play a vital role in lengthening a child’s attention span, a crucial skill in today’s world brimming with distractions. The deep engagement that naturally arises as a child interacts with these materials, along with the numerous complex extensions available, is also a key method through which we intentionally cultivate 21st-century skills. Sensorial exploration fosters critical thinking as children analyze and compare, creative innovation as they discover new ways to interact with materials, and confidence as they master new sensory challenges within the supportive Dancing Moose Montessori environment.
Fostering Independence and Life Skills Through Montessori Practical Life
Children possess an inherent drive to be independent and contribute meaningfully to their environments. The Practical Life area of our Dancing Moose Montessori program directly addresses this intrinsic desire, offering intentional lessons focused on everyday tasks that adults often overlook explicitly teaching. Children are naturally drawn to the activities within this area, which often involve tasks they observe adults performing in their home environments. Engaging in these practical life lessons not only imparts essential life skills but also cultivates vital 21st-century skills such as independence, confidence, and collaboration as children assist one another with tasks. Moreover, working through practical life activities, which gradually increase in complexity, is a critical way to build patience and sustained attention span, essential qualities for lifelong learning and success.
Expanding Horizons with Cultural Studies, Science, and Art in Montessori
At Dancing Moose Montessori, we believe in nurturing global citizens. Exposing children to the beauty of diversity and fostering a love for different cultures is a core component of our Montessori classroom. We embark on an in-depth exploration of a different continent every two months. This immersive approach allows for a rich variety of lessons that illuminate how children live in diverse corners of the world, cultivating a valuable global perspective from a young age.
Our science curriculum is centered on providing children with authentic, hands-on experiences that spark wonder and appreciation for the beauty of the scientific world around them. Teachers focus on a captivating monthly science theme, and we actively share lesson insights with parents, empowering them to provide enriching supplemental resources at home, should they desire. Afternoon circle times are intentionally reserved for engaging science and cultural lessons, fostering a deeper understanding of the world.
Art is not confined to a specific time slot but is thoughtfully integrated into all areas of our Dancing Moose Montessori classroom. A dedicated process art shelf provides children with the freedom to express their creativity and create whatever their hearts inspire. It is through this process-oriented approach to art that children develop crucial 21st-century skills such as creative innovation and confidence in their self-expression. Furthermore, art is seamlessly incorporated into cultural and science studies, serving as enriching extensions to the lessons learned, allowing children to express their understanding and creativity in diverse ways.
Nurturing the Whole Child Through Gross Motor Development
Recognizing the importance of holistic child development, Dancing Moose Montessori ensures that children enrolled in our full-day program participate in daily movement activities within our dedicated gym space, guided by a qualified movement instructor. These activities are intentionally varied each day to maintain children’s engagement, encourage active participation, and expose them to new physical challenges. Activities encompass a wide range, including dance, yoga, obstacle courses, and imaginative games. Moreover, all children, whether enrolled in full or part-day programs, benefit from daily outdoor recess time. During this supervised free play, children reap the numerous benefits of fresh air, physical activity, and crucial social interaction, fostering well-rounded development in our nurturing Dancing Moose Montessori environment.
